the life of an artist

What day is it?

2009-11-28T18:37:17Z

I feel like I don't know what day it is today...All I know is that I have to work and I don't want to. I'm getting tired of Macy's, its not hard by any stretch of the imagination. Its just boring and meaningless. I haven't drawn in days either, I usually don't go this long without drawing. I guess its also the fact that I'm working when everyone else is off. Or at least my friends and fiancee. Honestly I don't know how anyone could make a life style of working retail. Especially when you are open all hours of the day. I am glad to have a job though. However I do also feel like I'm wasting my time. Ok time to end this before it gets too depressing.

Please click the link # 684

2009-11-19T15:17:35Z

Please read this, learn it and live it. Thank you.

Oh those wacky Japanese...(don't click the link if your boss is in the room, its NSFW for sure)

2009-11-18T23:20:19Z

So while surfing the net I came across Onaholes I think this is just funny as hell. Still I know some dudes must buy them out of burning curiousity. Hell it would be cool to have one in my art studio just hanging around to freak people out. Of course you would have to dust it off often...or rather let it get dusty.

I am so uncool....

2009-11-13T17:46:00Z

I like Soundgarden's Down on the Upside better than Badmotorfinger. Although BadMotorfinger has some of my favorite Soundgarden songs like Jesus Christ Pose, Outshined and Rusty Cage lets be honest and admit that the album totally loses momentum after the the first half. While Down on the Upside is just one great song after another. I sorta wish that I had paid more attention to Soundgarden at Lollapaloza 96' instead of the girl that I was talking to. Because even though I think that they will reunite its never the same. I count myself as lucky to have seen some of my favorite bands at their peak. I wish I could say the same of Soundgarden. Then again they were sort of burnt out by that time so I guess I might not have missed much.

Hmm, I don't get it # 594

2009-11-13T06:49:41Z

I know some of you know about The Society for Creative Anachronism. When I had first heard about the SCA when I was 12 or so I thought that it sounded pretty interesting and cool. However, having discovered more about it as an adult; I just think its sort of weird. It seems to attract a certain type of person, a new stereotype. A stereotype without a name. These people tend to be a) gamers (this actually makes a lot of sense) b) pagans ( sort of makes sense, but not really*) c) Polyamorous( this makes no sense whatsoever) d) Bisexual( again where is the link? ) e) Bad fashion sense( I can see this, see a) for the reason)

Can any of you shed any light on this for me? Is there a name for this type of person? This is a subculture that I was pretty ignorant of until I got on LJ. But I have to confess that when I see a person write about ren fairs or SCA I check their profile and 8 times out of 10 they are polypagan and maybe Bi. I just want to know why? I understand the gaming thing. It makes sense if you have played D&D you might want to actually swing a replica sword. You might want to dress up in a hose and tunic. The pagan thing? Again this goes hand in hand with D&D. How people express their sexuality? I don't see the connection. I really don't. I think that fenmere should do some investigative reporting. I think that he is really good in front of a camera...as is ninjaguydan but fenmere is a much better striaght man so it would be even more entertaining.

So that was my silly thought for the night.

Good night.

* The pagans were actually put to the sword in the dark ages. 99% of the people were christians of some sort. Except for the Vikings, but even they became christians after the 10th century I believe. Yet you don't hear about christian SCA people. Then again it is called the Society for Creative Anachronism....

Back at it again...

2009-11-11T23:06:57Z

Right now I've picked up something I that pretty much had just hanging around my drawing board for the last two months. When I started work on it, I just felt that it was going to suck. The drawing had a lot of problems that I felt I couldn't solve. So I left it on the drawing board....But then I thought well, no one other than my fiancee had to see it. And the only reason that she might is it is that my drafting table is in the living room. I have to remind myself that its okay to fail. But I don't have to like it! Also that its good to fail every once in awhile because you tend to learn more from failure than from success.

Holy crap!!!!

2009-11-09T09:50:16Z

That game that I was telling you about Gamma Bros. just rules. Seriously download it now! For you fellow Mac users download this to use your gamepad to play since playing with a keyboard sucks. And when you configure your analog joystick just remember to reverse the directions for the x and y axis. So the x axis would be right arrow then left arrow, y down then up arrows. Have fun!

Sometimes you gotta smack a bitch.

2009-11-09T06:44:23Z

So I fixed the problem with my Wacom tablet. I simply smacked it against my chair's arm a few times. I found something on the net that suggexted that the nib was jammed. So I have saved $30 buck. And now I can attempt to create some pixel art!

And now for something different.

2009-11-09T01:08:07Z

So the reason that I was using the Wacom Tablet earlier and thereby descovering that the pen was fucked; was that I was trying my hand at pixel art. Because I want to create a cool retro game. Which has been done before and done well by Cave Story Which if you haven't played, you should. Its one of the best platform games ever. The best platform game in my mind though is Black Tiger it was an arcade game that you could actually beat! I can't say enough about that game.

So after playing the cool but flawed Castlevania games for the NES, I though I'd try my hand at it. So while looking up info on the net I found this game Gamma bros., this game is pretty damn awesome as well. Sadly I can't play it with my gamepad and it hurts to play with my keyboard. But I thought that I'd share. Pixel Jam also has a few other games so check the site out here.

Don't say I never did anything for you : )

Why now# 493 or Wacom tablet issues...

2009-11-08T20:25:16Z

Does anyone else have a wacom tablet? I've had mine for around 3 years or so, I've never really had any problems with it until this morning. I was trying to do some pixel art work when I noticed that the pen wouldn't stop drawing if I pulled up from the tablet. It even would draw if the pen was a few centimeters off the tablet. The tablet itself seems to work fine with the mouse, because I use it all of the time, its just the pen that is acting up. I tried deleteing the preference file and that didn't help. I also installed the latest driver. I'm starting to think that I might need a new pen, which really wouldn't be that bad since my pen is getting gross looking anyway.

Anyone have any advice or tips.

Thanks in advance!

Another one to keep an eye on.

2009-11-06T17:40:06Z

Seriously derbyartist looks like he has been working for the New Yorker for the past 40 years! But he is only 21. Unlike hughferriss people already seem to know that he is awesome. Great stuff, honestly I don't know when he got good, it just seemed to happen. Most guys you kinda see the progression, but with this guy its just there. Go check it out.

A few days late...but what else is new?

2009-11-06T02:30:32Z

Last year I finished my election comic after Obama won and this year I finished my Halloween drawing a few days after halloween.

Honestly it bugs the shit out of me to put the whole picture behind a cut. Because honestly what is so wrong with nudity? But someone might be looking at their friends page at work and their co workers or bosses might be uptight fucks.

I went at it with the grey paper again. I honestly don't know why I waited so long. I love this stuff. I just wish that I did better drawing on it. But part of the appeal is that I can't endlessly mess with the art. I mean I could start over( which I actually did) but with this stuff what you lay down with the colored pencils is what you lay down. You could erase but only if you don't have much down on the paper otherwise you are stuck with what you put down. I'm trying to get away from the computer stuff, because you really don't have anything to show for it. Nothing to show or sell other than prints. And art shows with prints aren't as cool as art shows with real art. Maybe I'll break out the water colors again...

Cool rare Frank Miller short story.

2009-11-04T05:38:23Z

I found master_post on here and while I was looking through his journal I came upon a Frank Miller post with " The Philistine". A classic short comic he did back in the day. Check it out here.

A question...

2009-11-02T04:09:38Z

Other than Super Metroid and Zelda are there any other cool Super Nintendo games other there? I wasn't too impressed with Super Castlevania or Super Marioland.

Also what is a good nes emulator for macs?

Subliminal diss...

2009-10-29T16:17:16Z

Arnold Schwarzenegger doesn't get along with the California state legislature and let them know it...Subliminally.

Check out what he wrote in response to a bill he recieved.

Here.

I actually feel sorry for this guy...

2009-10-28T15:53:51Z

In 12 years, Antoine Walker made more than $110 million playing professional basketball moderately well. Take away taxes, throw in some adidas endorsement money and , a "NBA '99 Live" cover and he's left with, what, $60-to-65 million?
Whatever the details, it was a big chunk of change, which, amazingly, it wasn't enough. That's right, during the last several months, the once multi-millionaire athlete has been pursued by multiple financial institutions for unpaid debts.
In fact, according to The Boston Globe, "Employee No. 8" owes more than $4 million to his creditors and is facing felony check fraud charges in Las Vegas. All of this at the age of 33. Wild.
Now I know what you're thinking: How in the world does somebody not named Montgomery Brewster even begin to blow through that amount of money?
The answer: fairly easy.
"[Walker] liked to move in an outsized entourage; his mother estimates that, during his playing days, he was supporting 70 friends and family members in one way or another. And speaking of his mother, he built her a mansion in the Chicago suburbs, complete with an indoor pool, 10 bathrooms, and a full-size basketball court. [...]
Living at the Bishops Forest condominium complex in Waltham during the Celtics season, Walker turned the pavement surrounding his home into a virtual luxury car lot — two Bentleys, two Mercedes, a Range Rover, a Cadillac Escalade, a bright red Hummer. Often, the vehicles were tricked out with custom paint jobs, rims, and sound systems at considerable added expense. He also collected top-line watches — Rolexes and diamond-encrusted Cartiers."
Condos, luxury cars, watches ... I guess that'll eventually force you into bankruptcy. Especially when you're not investing any money or collecting $200 with every fifth or sixth roll of the die.
But Walker's lavish lifestyle wasn't all "me-me-me." He was also a generous friend and teammate who had custom suits made for coaches, routinely picked up giant team dinner tabs and, when there were funds to spare, gave to underprivileged youngsters. He was basically spending money like it was going out of style.
And it did.
I guess Biggie was right after all: mo' money, mo' problems.

Orginal article here.
So yeah I feel bad for this dude because he spent his money taking care of his family a few friends and a bunch of leechs. People who are nowhere to be found now that the good times are over... Now I know some of you are going "Good those altheles make too much damn money anyway". To which I say to you what about the CEO's that make insane amounts of money, even if they do a bad job? Even if they outsource a lot of jobs, further eroding our ( american) economy? Nobody talks about them. And if sports stars are making so much money what about the people behind them? Why is no one mad at the team owners? Because trust me those dudes are really raking it in. But no you people are too short sighted and go for the easy target.

Facebook..

2009-10-27T22:28:40Z

Everytime I go on facebook I feel like my IQ drops. Seriously facebook is really dumb in my opinion. Its like Livejournal lite. But I use it to share stuff with family so I do get on it every once in awhile. I feel like no one really says anything at all of any sort of consequence. Its all quizs and stupid status updates. I really don't know how people are feeling, what they are thinking or who they really are. At least with LJ you tend to get a feel for people for better or worse. You get to hear their thoughts and opinions. Facebook is like Idiocracy come to life.

Don't get me started on Twitter...

Minor hard drive issues...

2009-10-27T16:19:25Z

So I checked my hard drive status like a good mac user and I got a repair your hard drive with disk utility. The first problem really is that my cd/dvd drive is in need of repair. Yeah I guess I could shell out the cash and just get an external one. Which brings me to problem number two. I don't have an OSX 4 install disk. I just have the disk that came with the computer. So do I actually need the OSX 4 install disk or can I use the one that cmae with the computer itself?

I have a powerbook 1GHz PPC G4 with OSX4.11

And here is the message that I got.

So any advice would be helpful. Thanks for your time : ) BTW my computer seems to be running just fine, I'm worried about the future though.

The roots of a bad attitude...

2009-10-22T23:59:38Z

I've been pondering why I feel so strongly about good and bad art lately. Why does it bother me so that artists out there are lazy about their art. Or rather why does it bother me when they don't take it as seriously as I do. And I do take it seriously. Its like the scene from Pulp Fiction when the get away cab driver asks Butch about how he felt about killing a man in the ring. That is how I feel about art. I don't care if lives are ruined or feeling are hurt. If you aren't serious about it then don't step in the ring.

A bit extreme..yeah.

But then again you didn't have to endure my first semester in art school. I had a teacher that would make students cry on a regular basis. " Oh did I break your concentration". She was like that hard. I'd have a headache by the end of every class. I had her at least 3 days of the week and often for at least 3 hours of the day. It was hellish. You would be trying your best to do a great drawing while you were worried that she wouldn't like what you were doing.

And the weird part? She liked me, she called me a true artist which was the highest praise that you could get out of her. But she said that I wasn't really an illustrator, which was fine with me. Because at least she knew that I was serious about what I was doing.

Now that I look back on it I almost feel like it was a traumatic experience, sort of like what movies make basic training out to be. Honestly I don't know if it was worth it, but it definitely shaped me. I reinforced that art was serious business, life or death serious. In fact it wasn't much fun after that. I didn't stop drawing, but I didn't like going to class as much. I guess her classes really let you know how you felt about art. The fact that i could find joy in the middle of that shit storm is prtetty amazing. But I definitely had moments where it was just me, the paper and the model.

I should also say that I grew to dislike most of my classmates. And the feeling was mutual. So yeah i feel like I have paid a lot of dues. Every artist does really in one way or another. You will suffer for your art. But I will have to say that its worth it. Because I can really get a sense of how far I've come with it. Which to most isn't that far at all, but its enriched my life and given me purpose. You can't really ask for more than that.

So yeah now you know something else about me that you might not have before.

Why # 324

2009-10-22T01:02:51Z

Why do once great artists start to suck. I guess this could be related to my last post about why some artists never get better. Although that was more about amateur artists. This is about pro's like Boris Vallejo. I used to love that dudes 70's and 80's work. Now... yuck I can't stand it. John Byrne is like that as well, back in the day he could do no wrong. Now? his comics are pretty sad. Although the commissions that he does are pretty tight.

Some artists keep getting better like Gil Kane, George Perez or Larry Elmore*. But most start to suck or they never get better which I guess is just as bad. I guess this really applies to bands even more than artists. A lot of the musicians that I liked fell off big time.

* My friend that has that Elmore painting doesn't like his new stuff. But I still think he is getting better. Part of that is that we grew up on all of the TSR artists back in the day and nothing tends to be as cool as it was when you were 12.

Why #429

2009-10-21T22:39:26Z

So you guys know that I'm on Deviant Art a lot during the day, right? One thing that I always see comic book guys advise wannabe's is that you have to draw all of the time. And I agree with this, to a point. See, the thing is that I see a lot of prolific artists on DA and elsewhere that never seem to improve. Year after year they draw the same low quality stuff. And yet they arre drawing all of the time. But they aren't improving at all. Now I know that its hard to get better sometimes, you plateau for a bit before you hit the next level. Also the better you get the harder it is to improve, but if you suck then you should be getting better fairly quickly. So why don't these people get better faster or at all?

Any thoughts?

You can take this job and shove it....

2009-10-19T03:48:04Z

So I saw job offer :

Looking for a manga style variation of the following photos name photoArguing1, photoDating1 and photoToast1.

The style of manga I am looking for are named MangaExample1, MangaExample2, MangaExample3. I need 3 drawings.

I only expect to pay $50 for this.

You must have a portfolio so I can see your previous work.
If assignment is done well, future assignments will be considered.

Thanks!

Fuck you buddy. YOU only expect to pay $50. For three drawings? Are you sick in the head? I guess you will be working with artists who live outside of North America and The European union then. It always drives me crazy how arrogant these fucks are. How the hell can you expect skilled artists to work for nothing? Why am I going to work for less than minimum wage? Try that on a plumber. Good art is a luxury and should be treated as such.

On another note, friday while I was working I came across someone who was an art director. The person in question had just filled a graphic design position, so I asked the person how they chose the one person for the job out of the sixty that applied.

The answer..." The person that had a degree from the same program that I did." Not the best or most talented...not even someone with a degree. Someone with a degree from the same place that they had a degree from, how messed up is that? This person in my opinion shouldn't have their job. Lucky for them the design work thye do isn't of a competitive nature. Because then they would be in trouble. See the thing is that no one looks are art and then holds their opinion of said art until they find out what kind of degree the artist holds. They like the art or they don't. I've see art from people that have gone to an art school that sucks. And their are plenty of artists without art degrees that are amazing. Of course their are a lot of amazing art school grads as well. But its the art that you see first, not a degree.

BTW...

2009-10-18T21:46:17Z

I think that all of the Twilight fans are hipocrites. I mean c'mon what is so damn romantic about a 300 year old vampire lusting after a teenager. If the dude looked like he saw even 45 yrs. old there would be protest nationwide. But no since he looks young its all good. Just keep this in mind the next time you think that an older guy is disgusting for looking at a younger woman...

What I do when I'm bored....

2009-10-18T21:41:17Z

I never understand people who say " I don't know what to draw". At least if they have a computer handy. Now if they said " I don't feel like drawing" that is a different story. I have a ton of pictures on my hard drive that I can use for reference or in those " I don't know what to draw" moments. I normally hate showing things that I've drawn from photographs as "my" work but I haven't posted any new art in awhile so I thought that I'd pull this from my sketch book.

For those of you that belong to voluptuouspinup or nekkidbbw will recogize muffin_von_chub Although she hasn't posted pictures in quite awhile, she has the whole retro pinup thing down to a science. Where some girls just post pictures of their body parts, she actually has costumes and themes going. And her poses are pretty much like something that you would see at a Dr. Sketchy's ( which I'm kinda doubtful of) well the tamer ones.

So this was some thing I did based on one of her pictures. The likeness was a bit off and I added an element to the picture so that it would work as a composition so itsw not photo realistic or anything just something that I did to keep my skills up.

Made my day...

2009-10-15T05:43:08Z

The fact that my girl had a bratwurst ready for me when I got home...and that I got some professional level love on DA.